Oceanside handles Carlsbad

Pirates leave behind loss to Mission Hills.

CARLSBAD  It took Oceanside quarterback Seth Romero and the Pirates all of one play and 29 seconds to get the taste of a horrific six-turnover performance two weeks ago at Mission Hills out of their mouths.

On the first play from scrimmage Friday night, Romero connected with Thai Cottrell on a 59-yard scoring pass.

Later in the first quarter, Romero hit Mikah Holder with a 50-yard scoring strike with Holder making a sensational juggling catch, and the No. 4-ranked Pirates went on to beat No. 9 Carlsbad 28-7 in their Avocado West opener.

“I’ve never had to wait two weeks to play after a loss and couldn’t wait to get back on the field,” said Oceanside receiver/defensive back Jace Whittaker. “Waiting was hard.

“We watched a lot of film, but the coaches had us fired up. We were ready, anxious to play.”

Carlsbad (5-1) had 13 plays of one or fewer yards in the first half as Issac Dixon, Rafael Sangines and Tommy Woo put the clamps on the Lancers offense.

The Carlsbad offense showed some life on the opening drive of the second half, moving 80 yards on seven plays while using more than half of the third quarter.